Inspection Detail

Inspection: 313507865 - Dart Container Corporation Of California

Inspection Information - Office: San Bernardino District Office

Investigation Summary

At approximately 5:15 p.m. on February 23, 2010, Employee #1 was working in the die head area of a polystyrene extrusion line. The line experienced a brown out and some of the equipment was deenergized, however, extruded material continued to come out of the die head. Employee #1 pressed the emergency stop button to stop the material from flowing out of the die head. She was removing extruded polystyrene foam from the die head when the foam ignited. The employee suffered burn injuries to her face and arms from the initial flash. She was transported to Corona Regional Medical Center and then to UC Irvine Burn Center, where she was hospitalized for three days for treatment. Further investigation revealed that a static elimination blower was used at the die head area as a precaution to eliminate static electricity and to prevent the foam from igniting, however, when Employee #1 pressed the emergency stop button, the static eliminator did not function because it was deenergized. In addition, operational gas detectors were being used to test for high concentrations of hydrocarbons. The detectors, installed a few feet from the die head, never alarmed to indicate the presence of a flammable vapor.

Keywords: BURN, STATIC ELECTRICITY, MACHINE OPERATOR, PLASTIC MFG, ARM, FACE